On the day last January that Canada was winning its third consecutive world junior hockey championship, goaltender Carey Price was on his way to victory and being named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Chances are Price wouldn’t necessarily have minded being in the Czech Republic today, wearing a Team Canada sweater as his country again won gold.

The Canadiens, with the 20-year-old rookie in their Bell Centre net, dropped a 5-4 decision in overtime to the Washington Capitals this afternoon, defenceman Mike Green taking advantage of confusion in the Montreal zone to whip home the winner at 1:27.

There are less lively see-saws in the playground than this game, a wholly entertaining matinée that typically had more than its share of young fans in the seats. Montreal was up by two, down by one, tied, down by one and tied before losing in OT.

The Canadiens had regulation-time goals, in order, from Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn, Roman Hamrlik and Alex Kovalev. Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin scored two for the visitors, with singles going to Niklas Backstrom and Boyd Gordon.

The Capitals outshot the Canadiens 27-26 in regulation and 2-1 in overtime.

The Habs came into the game with a 20-13-7 record overall, and working to improve on their 7-7-4 record at home, an inexplicable weakness given a raucous Bell Centre that’s been sold out every regular-season and playoff game since the end of the lockout.

Montreal began the 2008 calendar year on Thursday with a 6-3 home-ice victory over the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Habs failed in its bid to win its fourth consecutive over the Capitals, who arrived with a 16-20-6 record.

The Canadiens return to Bell Centre action on Tuesday, closing out a three-game homestand when the Chicago Blackhawks are the visitors.

418 Comments

Hello to everyone else getting nothing done on this day from the hockey gods (Mtl win, Can gold, Leaf loss)! Anyone who says we don’t have a superstar han’t watched many games this year. Kovalev has been just that for 90% of our games. He has been tuned in and has been a physical force with and without the puck. Lets give the guy some credit for following up on last year with the type of solid team effort he is showing…not even in a contract year! Hope the game continues to display the offensive talent playing.

Fair points. I guess that Gainey & Company are really the only ones with the answers.

I had the pleasure of watching all of the Bulldogs’ home games during the Calder run, and Carey looked dominating. If Gainey’s thought process for keeping him with the team was that he had already mastered the AHL level calibre of play, then I certainly wouldn’t argue with him. It would seem that Price can learn far more at the NHL level as compared to the AHL, so my guess is that he isn’t going anywhere.
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Speaking solely for myself, I don’t mean to throw Price under the bus… ever since I saw him in person in the CC finals last spring here in Hershey, I’ve thought he’d be a great addition to the Habs, and I haven’t changed my mind on that. My question is where he can best refine and develop his skills right now – continuing with the Habs or going back down to Hamilton temporarily. If it’s with the Habs, then great. My concern is that his play seems to have steadily declined over his last few appearances (not just this game) – too much rest, as another poster here said? Or too much too soon?

Latrendesse is useless. He can’t give or take a pass, skate, shoot, hit, play defense…Isn’t there another ‘Next’ tolken French kid we could play? How does Carbo continue to let the Latrendesse Log ride shotgun? Why would he sit an annual 30 goal scorer while ‘The Log’ is incapable of rolling? In their promotional block for the Habs on the RDS network, it was about 75% ‘The Log’ (attempting to play hockey and various shots of him looking confused and lost from the bench)15% Boullion (wow, our #5 D-man), and the remaining clips divided up among Koivu, Kovalev and Steve Begin. Am I the only one that sees a problem here? No wonder people don’t want to play here! It’s insanity. Carbo has benched three talented Russians (Kostisyn, Perezhogen, and Samsonov) and one Newfie so that this kid can play poorly. Enough already…I would trade ‘The Log’ straight up for Jan Bulis, Niklas Sundstrom, Alexander Perezhogen, Richard Zednik, Mike Johnson, Sergei Samsonov and all the other players that were not nearly as bad as him, but not given countless passes from the coaching staff, fans, and media because of where they were born.
-PG

aaaannnddd – When your goalie looks that shakey with one minute of play left in the 2nd, maybe give him the 3rd off.

Well guess it appears just as Ryder was getting his confidence, Carbo must be trying his utmost to deflate him, no power play time and very little ice time in the second period, around 7 mins for 2 periods. Is there any wonder the Habs are behind!

Price is still young and doesn’t have enough experience facing NHL snipers. Once he worked on his fundamental and knows more about the NHL shooters, he’ll be more prepared to put up a better show. I also blame Carbo for sitting him too long. He should have played the game vs N.Y. while Huet was tired. He wasn’t in this game from start to finish.

Don’t use inactivity as an excuse. This is Pro. You need to be ready to play at all times and when you get your opportunities you can’t waste them. The job of a backup goalie is to be ready to compete to give the starter a rest and still give the team a chance to win.

Put Huet in for the 3rd because Price is looking pretty shakey out there….If only we could have burried some of those chances we had. Awsome goal from A.Kos though. Hope the 3rd is a good one for the HABS…

That’s the part I don’t get either. Why can’t a player make a mistake or have a bad game and people just be upset about it and leave it at that. Why does it always have to go over the top like trade him, demote him, he sucks, etc.

Our Habs have been on a role since they lost to Dallas, & let’s hope they keep it up this afternoon. In the last 4 games they have 3 wins, & an overtime loss. Their face off %’s in those games have been 35%, 37%, 32% & 47%, definitely an area they need to improve in. The scores & some other total for those games are (GV – Giveaways: TK – Takeaways; HF – Hits For; HA – Hits Against; SF – Shots For; SA – Shots Against):

Some of the individual player stats for those 4 games are listed below. If only they could keep up the pace. It is a bit difficult to read as the numbers, when posted, don’t line up as they should under the different headings.

I find it amazing the number of hits & blocked shots that some players have in just 4 games, e.g.,Komisarek & Hamrlik. Also, the kid Sergei Kostitsyn leads the forwards in blocked shots with 4. That says a lot for what he brings to the team, besides his offensive upside & on ice vision. He is also a +3, & the Kovalev, Plekanec, A. Kostitsyn line is a combined +10 with 16 points. Incredible!

GO HABS GO!!!

P.S. Forgive all the stars. They are not for the Montreal players (LOL), but because I did not know how else to align the numbers with the headings. If anyone knows, please let me know. When I preview the comment, the alignment looks nothing like what I have typed.

I posted this on another thread . Here are a few observations on the game:

(i) I liked the way the Habs team skated.
(ii) I got concerned when the Habs missed some of their early chances (i.e. Lapierre, Tenders, and Koivu).
(iii) I am not going to dump on Price. While he was not sharp, three of Caps goals (i.e. Ovechkin, Backstrom, Gordon) were scored from either the top of the circle in our end or the slot. Our defense just collapsed in thereby at least partially screening Price.
(iv) I have been harping on this all season but we continue to let the opposing team enter our zone unmolested since our defense collapses in. If we are going to play Carbo’s famous trap system then we should stand at our blueline forcing the opposing team to turn it over or dump it. We are giving the opponents free shots by collapsing in. I can not blame Price for all of the goals.
(v) Why does Price always drop to his knees on virtually every shot? I have to believe that limits his catching flexibility as well as covering the top of the net.

GO HABS GO- GO RYDER GO- Play like they did against Tampa and they shud be alright. Keep ovechin under wraps.
Seen lot of comments in recent weeks from some saying they cant wait for the arrival of Paciorety. Well he certainly didnt show much against Canada yesterday and almost invisible against the Russians today

I am unwilling to place the blame squarely on Price’s shoulder, but there is something wrong with his focus–which is unacceptable for any professional hockey player. He seems to fall asleep out on the ice, and what is disturbing is how frequently he does this. You can’t coach that problem away. That said, the Habs let another two-goal lead vaporise. They really need to develop some killer instinct. Washington may be in last place, but they can score goals. Oh well, at least they got a point in this new NHL crap.
_________________________________________________________“The crowd doesn’t give a crap as long as you bring the money in.”
–Guy Lafleur

Latendresse is a very marginal 15-goal scorer who might inch up to 20 because of ice time with more talented people. He has extremely limited skills and sorely needs some time in the minors. He has some size but is just too wretched a skater to catch up to anybody.

I’ll try… tough to do though, know what I mean? Overall I do see improvement in the Habs over the last few weeks but sheesh, it’s hard to lose to the Caps, the nearest team geographically to me. (Deep breaths, deep breaths, focus on Team Canada…)

Price was shaky – and the refs were horrible, but neither of those factors was as important as the poor coaching job done by Carbonneau. Ryder and Higgins get no ice time while Koivu has to play with Lats the anchor. I can see why the Russian players were upset – Latendresse is, for some reason, golden. And I suspect it’s because he’s a Quebecois. How can anyone not see just how poor a player he is? He can’t skate, doesn’t pass, can’t accept a pass and has no shot. But he plays while others sit – including A Kostitsyn for four games. Just offer Lats or AK even up in a trade and see the difference. Please, please send Latendresse to Hamilton – he’ll suck there as well.

price doesnt need to go back down, he needed to be pulled after the third goal in the second period though. Everything else from montreal looked good this afternoon, yes they finally looked good in afternoon. And is anyone else noticing that Plekanec is now on pace for 72 points this year? and that A Stits has 9g 7a in his last 15 games….our team is taking flight gentlemen, one game, shakey goaltending, no biggie.

I only saw the last 6 mins in reg and the OT but the Habs looked tentative and shaky and gave the Caps way too much room. They weren’t skating well and Price was flopping more than I’ve ever seen him before, particularly on the Ovechkin cross bar play that was reviewed. This team has been true to form all year: Inconsistent. You never know how they’re going to play. And they seemed lost in their own end.

Latendresse is awful out there. How can he dress every game? For sure, he will have one bounce in off his backside and then everyone will conveniently forget just how bad he is. And to think Carbo sat A Kostitsyn instead of him…

Anyone else like to see Price go back down to Hamilton for a bit, just to work on his skills and get his confidence back? Surely Halak couldn’t do any worse. I have a lot of hope for Price but I don’t want to see him washed up before he even has a shot at a career…

I agree that Price was shakey today, but at the same time the offense had a chance to put Washington away with a couple of easy goals that weren’t cashed in. Never mind that one of the best players in the game today turned in one of his best performances of the season. man, the “Big O” would look great in the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, wouldn’t he?
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That one play, the backhand wrap around is one of the more difficult to do. I am a right handed shot but like playing the off-wing and I can count on one hand how many of the those have worked for me. Price had a tough outing, but it was a mid-season game against the Caps not Game Seven of the Finals. I do thing the butterfly style is not working for him. He seems very awkward employing it. Also, with his size, he gives away his natural advantage by going down. Man, I would love to see OV in our kit. Put him or Vinny in the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge and you have a contender overnight. And, a guy who would pull the fans asses out of their seats at the Phone Booth!

From watching Price in Hamilton last year, he does seem to go down in the butterfly more than he has in the past. In the Calder Cup run, he almost looked like a groundhog the way that he would stretch up to look over forwards crowding his crease; perhaps against generally larger NHL’ers he having a tougher time doing that, instead opting to go down a little earlier to afford a better view of the play. Someone should ask him that.
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True… it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s being coached to go down a little early to use his size to cover the bottom of the net. While that works well when the puck is in close around the crease, from farther out the shooter still has an angle to pick a top corner.
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Call me a traditionalist, but I like a standup kicker who will make the first save and rely on the d to clear any rebounds. The criticism of other posters that he has been too deep in the net is vaild as well. He’ll get there. We just have to be patient as we have been with Lats and Ryder.

I don’t want to rail the kid either, but the NHL is not the place for him to learn goaltending. Send him back to Hamilton for a month or two and let him get comfortable (play him for like 10 – 15 games straight and see what he is doing then), he is still a kid, and unfortunately not the Phenom that everyone wants him out to be. Keep Huet and back him up with Halak, with that duo and the way our offense is getting better, playoffs will be no problem.

Price was pretty brutal in goal today, but reading some of these posts you would think that he singlehandedly lost the game for the Habs. In fact, Price and the team played well enough to eke out a win today had the refs not blown it with an early whistle during a goal mouth scramble in the third. But those are the breaks when you play an 82 game schedule. Some bounces go your way and some don’t.

Anyway, isn’t this version of the Habs ex. fun to watch? I can’t remember being as excited to watch a Habs game in a long time. AK46 scored a gem. SK74 is looking more and more poised out there. Pleks and Kovalev were fantastic. Kovy appeared to be feeding off Ovechkin’s passion. It’s also apparent that Kovalev is relishing AK46’s recent success. These things all bode well for the team’s future.

“…but the NHL is not the place for him to learn goaltending. Send him back to Hamilton for a month or two and let him get comfortable (play him for like 10 – 15 games straight and see what he is doing then)…”

They already did that last year when Price played in 25 straight games and he demolished AHL shooters on the way to winning the Calder Cup. The only place for him to learn NHL-calibre goaltending is in the NHL.
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You can still be the leagues most DANGEROUS sniper, perform to expectations and be stoned cold by a hot goalie…Unfortunately thats what we needed today…a HOT OFF THE PRESSES GOALIE…did we not see what happened to the sens the other day….

except for the doublecrossbar snipe of Ovechkin, where Price was clearly beaten (but didn’t go in), the others could have been saved…OVECh or NON-OVECH shots…

my point being that when OV had the puck, there was electricity and lightening zapping out of his helmut that shell struck PRICE into shock….Huet being a little more season’d, mature, and coming off a good trip, would have handled it slightly better, which for this tilt would have been just enough for the “W”.

I was always against sending Price to Hamilton but after watching today’s game and the last 2 or 3 he played, may be that’s not a bad idea after all. I never recall Price on his knees as often as he’s been lately. Sorry folks but I thought all 5 goals could’ve been stopped.

Montreal did not put him down to the minors, he did not play for them back then, he won the World Juniors, and then went to Hamilton, meanwhile Halak was being thrown to the wolves and played awesome. PRice does not have the AHL figured out, if he did, he would not be letting in the shots he did today, yeah Green there is a household hockey name, give me a break…

I have no doubt that Price knows that he is “the guy”. Not for this season, but he knows that he’s being groomed to be the Habs’ franchise goalie. I’m also not worried that if he was to play in Hamilton that he would look at it as a demotion.

He does need more consistent work to hone his skills, as do all goalies, but the question is, what kind of work does he need? Would he be better served getting a crapload of work against AHL-level talent, or fewer minutes but NHL-calibre experience from playing against and practicing with the best hocky players in the world?

The way I see it, the Habs have been able to produce points (a little under half of their total) in games where Price has played. That stat alone leads me to believe that his learning curve could very well continue in Montreal.
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May be we should go back a bit and realize that Gainey insisted on having Price play in Montreal this year. If I understood correctly, Carbonneau was not quite ready or willing to accept this and it took a bit of arm twisting to convince him. I posted earlier today that Price has to play at least one game per week to stay sharp but Carbonneau’s job is to get the Habs in the playoffs, period.
If we make the playoffs , win a round and possibly two, then may be some high profile UFA, which of lot of folks here are dreaming about , will actually be interested in signing with the CH this summer.
We all agree that this kid is no Steve Penny but Carbonneau must also set the team’s priorities in the proper order. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
So; Price is doing his best and will improve with time and Carbonneau has to go with his gut feeling from one game to the next. As a simple fan here I would like to see Price play and bounce back next Tuesday and hope the coaches will make sure the team in front of him is ready to play for 60 mins.

For those who saw the Sens-Caps game last week, Gerber looked no better than Price facing Ovechkin shots.

When it comes right down to it, barring any unforseen circumstances, the Habs have deemed him to be their goalie of the future. Heck, they didn’t draft him at #5 for nothing! When it comes right down to it, it’s his development, above all, that matters. That’s why Gainey overrode Carbs and had him remain in Montreal. Huet may technically be our number one goalie, but realisticaly he’s number two on the depth chart. They may already feel that he’s shown enough to handle being the go-to guy, but then Bob has to take other circumstances into consideration, such as what to do with Huet. It must be a tricky balancing act, to be sure.
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Huet did not lead us last year when we had no goalie. We had a horrible season, with Huet as number one and Aebischer as the backup. It was Halak who came in and nearly got us into the playoffs, only to lose the job to Huet in the final game of the season to the leafs. I don’t think I need to remind you of how we made out.

We also can’t forget that Huet has had his shaky games this season that have cost us points. We have to compare apples to apples. And the Habs haven’t been shy about playing Price against the big guns of the league… and for the most part he’s played very well in those situations.
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exactly, yes it was a bad game, but he lets in goals that are very costly, Huet has a better GAA and Save %, so I ask again who is number 1 on this team? Play Huet as much as you can Carbo, if not, it will haunt you come playoffs

Everything you said, I cannot disagree with. However, I was talking about Price and his development, and I do not think he would cost us a playoff berth. He’s as good as Huet….and yeah, absolutely he should be thrown right back in Tuesday night.

When I talk about the Habs goaltending, in general, with others, the one constant seems to be “why is he down? Why is he dropping so soon?”, and it doesn’t matter who is goal. Price, Huet, Aebischer, Theodore, and on and on. Is it the goaltending coaching? Not pointing fingers, but I do see a pattern here.

Then when else is he supposed to get it? Also, Huet has never been able to play more than 42 games in any NHL season. He’s already played 22, which means that if history is any indication we can count on another 20 from him… and there are 41 games left. If history repeats itself, that means that our “backup” could very well play 21 from here on out. SO far, Price is 9-7-2 in the NHL, and Halak as an identical record, but in the AHL. Who would you rather have play those 21 games that Huet may not start?
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Haven’t read any posts but just watched the game. Can we end the stupid Price experiment? He’s precocious, he’ll be good, blah blah blah. Huet is ten times as good as he is right now and we should swap halak for price as should have been the case based on his so-so training camp.

He has NOT been dominant and it’s been wishful thinking. am i a believer long term – sure. I trust the scouts and staff. But I’ve watched every game this year and he has NOT been dominant except in in shootouts. . . and in this game he let in at least 3 questionable goals.

Send him down. . . and sign Huet. It’s too damn early and I’m ticked off that we disrespected Huet and jeopardized both any trade value and the chance to resign him at a respectable figure based on preparing for a future season. The Habs are good NOW. Send down Price.

Huet better have a better average…playing twice as much as Price, being the veteran not the rookie, and playing for his next contract! Price has yet to be given that chance. In time, Habs fans will forget the name “Huet”.

Oh, I’m sorry…Huet is an All-Star! Based on what? The number of votes he recieved by fans? Because he was “named” to the team by the league? Or, because each team must be represented at the “classic”? I haven’t checked, but I’d be very surprised if it was because of his numbers.

I agree with you 100%. Go read some of my posts and see how I am getting bashed by all these jerkoffs who think that Price is the next best thing to sliced bread. He is good but there are alot of goaltenders out there that have shown better skills…man Price needs a stint in Hamilton, and the fans need to back up Huet, maybe not a long term contract but give the guy some money, he will perform…I stand behind Huet 100%, Price had his chance and has shown he has many things to work on, Montreal cannot afford to let him work out his kinks right now, we need wins, not conditioning for our future number 1…this is ridiculous

The statement made by Rollie that Price was ahead of 33, as far as technique was concerned, was stupid to say the least. Too many folks took that as face value and Price is stuck with it. F.Allaire brought the going down in the butterfly style to Roy and others and it seems to be the current style around the NHL with goalies being so much bigger.

Anyways, I watched the BullDogs/Marlies game today and Halak looked as good as last year, although they lost 2-1, but then again, he was facing the likes of Bates Battaglia and the rest of the Laffs hopefuls.

With adequate goaltending, the Habs would have won today, end of story. Am I going mental? No, as I’ve said several times before, the Eastern Conference is a house league and I’m not going to go mental about haouse-league hockey!

Trade value is why Huet is playing as much as he is. If someone bites with a quality offer by the trading deadline, you’d have to bet that Gainey would consider it carefully. If that doesn’t happen, he can still go a couple of routes: let Huet walk, and save the cap room to sign free agents, or reinvest in Huet for another year.

Huet knows that Price is the long-term goalie for the team, and that it’s in their best interests to do whatever is necessary to ensure that he becomes a very good goalie for a very long time. I don’t see that as disrespect at all.
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Twice the games, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND. huet has played 4 more games than your mighty Price. Huet has faced 704 shots and let in 52, Price has faced 560 and let in 50 follow this link (http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=Stats) and open your crusty filled eyes, or better yet, wake up this is not last years World Juniors or Hamilton this is the NHL 2007/2008 and this is no place to condition a “Might be great Goalie” when you have one already

Yes it is very true that the butterfly style, patented and copyrighted by P.Roy, is the popular style around the NHL today.

What I don’t know, and I’d be very happy for someone who does know to tell me, was this Price’s style throughout junior and last year with the Dogs in Hamilton? Or, is someone trying to change his style because it is the current fashion amongst goaltenders today? I am curious.

Actuallly, I’m just trying to figure out what Gainey’s game plan is. If it was up to me, I’d ask Huet to sign for another year and do the tandem goalie thing that has worked so well for Detroit this year.

And I think that Gainey’s thinking of long-term success here, and not just for this season. That’s how you build long-term success: by building a team that’ll be good for years to come, and not just a team that’s good this year. So no, I don’t think that Gainey’s on any sort of ego trip.
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Brian, you will acknowledge that we had this same conversation a few nights ago regarding Huet, and his “dropping” early.

I will not concede that Huet is that much ahead of Price. That is my point in all of this. We thought goaltending was our strong point this year, yet we’ve seen average goaltending, at times, from both goaltenders. Our goaltending, IMO, will not be the major factor that gets us into or keeps us out of, the playoffs this year. We don’t have the goalie to steal games, or to lose them on their own, at this point this year. It’s the play of the five guys in front of them that will determine it.

The Habs have eared 1.2 points per Huet game, and 1.1 points per Price game. Save% is a misleading stat, considering that all goalies don’t face the same quality and type of shots in each game. Points in the standings–wins, overtime losses, and shootouts–are the only stat that matters. No team ever got into the playoffs based solely on their goalies’ save percentage.
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well your stat makes no sense, this has been a goalie conversation not a team one. Maybe the team played worse in front of Huet more often than Price…so in terms of earning a point, myabe Huet had to make twice the unbelievable stops than Price

Agreed. Let’s just hope that our goaltending, as a whole, improves as the year rolls on just as our offence has. If we make the playoffs, it’s pretty much a given that one goaltender will be the “go to” guy until he shoots himself in the foot. Will it be Huet? Price? Only their play over the duration of the regular season will determine that.
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Are you saying that you’d prefer to have a goalie in net (Huet) that the team consistently plays WORSE in front of?

And this has been a conversation about the team all along; it all started with a point of view that Price, and Price alone was to blame for today’s loss. Some of us here have been trying to point out that it’s not just the goaltender, but the play of the entire team in front of him, that’s just as responsible for the outcome of a game. After all, a missed open net scoring chance is the same as a blown save in the final outcome of the game.
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Price lost the game, Koivu missed an open netter. These are all true facts of todays game. I have no idea if the team plays worse in front of Huet or not, I just wish Huet played more often than he does. Huet has a better numbers. Some games the team did not play, today they did, Price just couldn’t stop a puck if it was 2 feet wide, today. The Habs hopes of making playoffs, is smaller and smaller with all this flip flopping of goalies, play Huet and make up your mind if he is number 1…We WILL regret it if Huet leaves this club.

Where is Ian and Krob? I was one of those who wants to see our team winning now and said that Huet gives us a better chance to win. I was accused being impatient. But I would never recommend demoting someone based on one game. Carbo was the one who kept Price on the bench for 10 days. No wonder Price had a bad game today. NHL players and coaches are professionals. I am sure that they will be working hard to correct Price’s mistakes. Price has played solid in the past and has beaten the Laffs more than once. I can bet that the Habs management will not act as some of the posters said on this site.

I think what TommyB meant was that considering the years that each goaltender has had up to this point, it might not make a big difference which one is the go-to guy down the stretch… and that there’s plenty of room for either guy to get hot and play much more consistently.
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We have two goaltenders who are capable. This team will not have to rely solely on the goaltending as being the factor that gets, or doesn’t get, the team to the playoffs. Neither one of these goalies will win or lose games on their own. It falls on the rest of the team to get the job done, rather than using either goaltender as a crutch. And I certainly am not talking cup this year, so I don’t get your Brodeur reference.

I think we have to take a little perspective here. Compared to last year our goaltending situation is much better. With all due respect to Aebischer, Price has performed better.

It’s my view that until Huet is injured, stinks out the joint, is traded by Gainey or leaves at the end of the season as a UFA, he remains our #1 goaltender for the present time frame.

In the future, there is no doubt that Price is our #1 goaltender and I have every confidence he will perform at that level. I’m not about to start second-guessing Trevor Timmins work as he’s done pretty good so far.

Insofar as whether Price was rusty, perhaps he was and there might be an argument made to send him to Hamilton so he plays every game. I don’t agree with that because I believe having two good goalies but pressure on each of them (Price and Huet) to perform better.

Also as much as Price may be responsible for losing the game today, he was also responsible for winning other games for us this season that we quite frankly had no business winning. As others have quite aptly noted, you cannot judge a person based on one game’s performance.

I seem to recall a stretch of games where Price played regularly and Huet sat out despite not being injured. Carbonneau went with the hot hand and there is nothing wrong with continuing to do that. Alhtough I do agree that sitting someone for 10 days and then playing them is going to be a problem.

Sometimes the wind blows east, sometimes it blows west. Not every game goes our way.

You can look at their numbers and know that
a) Huet and Price are both very good goalies and
b) Huet has better stats and right now is the more consistant player
BUT…
c) that could all change in a few games.

Listen everyone, we lost – it happens. Price came off a long time on the bench… the team wasn’t at it’s best either. Give Price some slack – he deserves it. He’s won games for us too.

As for the other players. There were THREE plus players on the ice:
– Kovalev
– “Mekanic”
– Latendresse

….three guys that come to play every game… the team is getting stronger, we’ve won points in most of our games the last few weeks and gained ground in the standings. I’m not complaining – I’m just watching us get better and better!

Cheers!

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

“Can you send him to Hamilton now? How do you do that? How can you put it to him?”

With all do respect, what the hell are you talking about? How can you put it to him??

This is not pre-school. This is the big time. You say, “lookie here buddy, pack your backs your going down”. The Habs called Lock up for one game, he didn’t even get to play in it, then they sent him packing again the next. Life is hard, deal with it.

Please don’t get the wrong idea, I am not saying we should send Price down. I just don’t see the problem if that is what the team decides to do. We can’t treat Price any differently then the rest of the players. No one is gonna pussy foot around this guy.

This whole thread started because I felt it was totally disgusting to read on here that Price “lost” the game for us…and that those pricks in the seats at the Bell Centre were chanting,,,Hu-et, Hu-et. That is the kind of crap that is totally unfair and uncalled for. The second period meltdown, and Koivu’s lazy stick infraction in the third, had as much to do with today’s result as the goaltending of Carey Price. Who’s calling them out?

I think Kovy and K1 were the two best players in our team today. Latendresse missed so many chances. Open net and couldn’t score from the backhand. Why Carbo played Latendresse instead of Ryder during PP is beyond me.

I feel bad for Price. He deserves to be up here – everyone has an off game now and then (look at the Kipper in Calgary at the start of the season)… but this is part of why he may be better off in the minors. The kid can be confident but he’s not made of steel.. it’s one thing to put weight on a leader or a veteran, another to heckle a rookie, or expect him to walk on water. The fans should be ashamed. And the rest of the team, like I said, wasnt’ great. A few guys had strong games, but not all. As you say – pick on the veterans if you’re gonna pick on anyone – or the millionaires.

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

Huet is not being used as our number 1 admit it!!! They are living in a fantasy world, Price may be the future for the HABs. How do we know Price will be this Phenom, what happens if we trade Huet and Price becomes number 1 and gets injured, can he bounce back like Huet, we don’t know. You can not compare our situation to any other team, becuase every other playoff hopeful team plays their number 1 goalies consistently, in Montreal they are still dreaming that Price will turn into this fantastic goalie overnight, the next Patrick Roy (far from it). What is with the stupid Flip Flop of goalies. This will ruin the hard work that the rest of the players have done to get us in this position this year. Now the guys up front may not want to play because of dumb decisions like this.

All I have been saying is the NHL is not the place for Price to correct his mistakes, that is the purpose of the FARM team. Huet should be getting a heck of a lot more starts than he is and we should have a “BACKUP GOALIE” not a #1 hopeful. Price right now is not playing that back up role.

I know it takes a team to win games, but today showed again how weak Price still is…I am not saying Huet will win every game he plays, but damn it the guy deserves to be treated like a number 1 not a washed up old glove!!! Man the talk on this site bugs me…support Huet people, he is the real deal and has already proved it.

Don’t forget Lapierre’s slash/interference call that led to the powerplay goal that got Washington back in the game, and Kostitsyn’s missed defensive assignment on the final goal, among others. Yes, we scored 4 goals, but there were also plenty of holes in our game on top of the goaltending.
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Yeah and throwing $10 beer at the Leafs is respect to the visiting team (also wasting precious beer, shame on them), give me a break, they had every right, they paid alot of money to see the game and watch that kid blow it, I would be pissed as well.

MTL has been like that forever, where have you been, they are tired of all the hype about someone that has yet to prove he is as good as everyone WANTS him to be, not as good as he actually his…come back to reality, he might have been great with the peewees but this is the majors…he is not that great…..yet.

No you can’t. What message is that sending to Huet, he has played 22 games and Price 18 (who is number 1 here folks), Kipper has played 41, Brodeur 36, Luongo 34 and so on. This team is not treating Huet like they should.

Why do you say that the habs won’t win this year. Do you have a crystal ball? Last time I checked, as long as a team makes the playoffs then anything can happen. Are you saying that we won’t make the “playoffs”? Edmonton went all the way to the finals a couple of years ago and frankly they weren’t all that great of a team and the only reason why they made the playoffs was because Van. and L.A. fell apart in the last two weeks. You know, mybe someone takes out Ottawa in the first round and same with Detroit. If Montreal can make the playoffs then they can when the cup, it’s possible! The playoffs are all about possibilities!!! Try to stay a little positive my friend!

I didn’t see this afternoon’s game but it would appear that Price didn’t have a great day – that can happen when you haven’t played in two weeks. The guy is only 20 years old for crying out loud. After reading some of the comments on this thread (as well as Mike Boone’s blog) you would think we were on the Titanic and had hit an iceberg and were taking on water. Hey, we gave up a point. It could be worse – we could be feeling like Sweden right now. Or the Lousy Leafs. There’s still tomorrow and another half season to go.

what have you seen, more games in person, well good for you. I have no idea why eveyone is riding me so hard. Because I don’t think Price is ready for the NHL as a number 1. Or is it because all of you hopefuls made bets with your buddies about Price being sooooooo great, swallow your pride and whatever else you have in your mouth, because I can not understand what you are saying.

And what is this about calling someone a moron…I think you can talk yourself into that one all alone

I don’t know why we are even still discussing goaltending it is not the problem with this team. Alot of talk about whether price should be sent down to play more often in hamilton. Its a possibility but then how does price adapt to nhl shooters playing in the ahl? What can price learn playing in the minors? He went there at the end of last season and pretty much won the calder cup on his own for a team that was barely good enough to make the playoffs.

Right now the biggest problem is not goaltending, its our lack of success in faceoffs.

I guess I started something that some people will not let go of. Price lost the game and Huet is not being used as our number 1. Period. If Price needs ice time, put him in the minors. Period. Price is backup, well start playing him like a backup like the other 29 teams do with their backups

I don’t hate Ryder. I thought (at the beginning of the year) he would be more valuable traded. And as I said above – pick on the millionaires if they don’t perform. You’re obviously one of those with his head in the sand about the kind of year Ryder is having. Or you think it’s my fault. Get a grip.

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

There’s no one way to use a goalie. Tandems do work, playing the hot hand is common. You seem to think that Carbo should follow some 2-dimensional guide to “what is a back-up”. There’s a lot more nuance than that to winning – at anything.

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

the ahl is not as intence as the nhl.price has had success in the ahl, and would of done well.but his weaknesses would be more exposed in the nhl.thus he may be struggling now.he is a rookie,he is allowed to screw up now n then. the hard work that hes going threw now will pay off in the near future.look at ward in carolina,would you rather have price go through
the same.or work on a successfull 12 to 15 year career?

all 3 goalies you mention are accustomed to playing a minimum of 70 games per season and do not have a history of injuries. Huet has played 40 at the most and its usually because of a serious injury. I would love to see huet play 65 games, stay healthy and maintain his all-star game stats but history is not on his side. Going back to brodeur,luongo and kipper. Could you imagine what would happen if any of these tenders would ever get injured for a lengthy time like huet did?

Disagree with you – Price was partially screened on those shots. Why did the defense collaspe in such that the Caps were able to take shots at the top of the circle. You need to watch the game before you rag on certain players.

well ok, I am wrong you are right thanks for clearing things up for me about who is number 1 then…I always thought number 1 meant you were played more, I guess it is just a title and a paycheck and not about performance and such

Great point. Look at the numbers. Goal tending overall has been good. Great at times, and soft now and then, but overall the numbers tell the story, and both have played well overall.

We stink at faceoffs, our PK is not great… we could use a little grit now and then. As our stats show, the team is actually quite good – and getting better. We can wish for more but the improvements we need to be competitive every night are relatively minor.

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

Why is everyone hating Price? I still say Huet doesn’t make the “Big” save in games. Price, is young and is a god goalie, I feel he should be playing more. Huet is a good goalie, but all you morons saying Price should be sent to the minors. Come on, the only goal he had a chance on was the Gordon shot, and even that was good. We didn’t play a very good defensive game.

Before anyone dumps on Price please explain how the Caps were allowed to take their shot unmolested at the top of the circle or the slot. If you ask me the defense was more responsble for the goals than Price.

Trade Huet and let Price play. The more games Price plays the better he will get. How can he get better playing one game in ten days. GET REAL PEOPLE. What can he learn on the bench? NOTHING. He needs hands on experience. Price is so scared to make a mistake. If he does then he will not play again for another while.

If Ganiney plans on keeping Huet the # 1 goalie, then Price should have stayed in Hamilton and made Halak the back up. That way Price would get a lot of playing time.

The problem with price in the game today was that he was to relaxed because he has not played in a while.

Keeping Price on the Habs bench will ruin him. Price needs to play regularly. It is simple as that. If the Gainey can’t see that then he is just as stupid as he looks.

hey, i have no problems with the way it is now, huet will be poss trade bait, n price is getting his feet wet.to compare roy’12 or so year career to prices 18 games or so is not quite fair to price.again price’s style n puck movement talent wise, i have never seen anyone quite like him.this game againts wash,hey ryder didnt score, dosent anyone have something to say about that? anyway,im surprised noone requested price be traded.lol

Huet could be a starter if he could play more than 40 games without getting hurt. Huet pulled his groin against the preds back on dec. 1 and missed 7 games. If he wasn’t so injury prone he may of played 5 or 6 of those 7 games. Here’s a question for your. Lets say the habs play the laffs in the playoffs who do you start in net?

Speaking of the Leafs, I’m glad Ruutu used Tucker’s face as a punching bag the other night. I will give Tucker credit at least for holding his ground.

Earlier this season he was defending Bryan McCabe and asking why the fans/media kept bringing up McCabe’s $7M a year salary when McCabe was playing atrociously. You get paid big bucks and paid horribly for an extended period of time you are going to get booed. If you make $40k a year like everyone else then it’s a different story.

If there were two former Habs who I never liked, I’d say that Darcy Tucker and Claude Lemieux would be the two. Both dirty players and cheap shot artists in their own right.

is anything i said wrong? huet’s first 2 seasons he was injured for at least 2 months i think that could mean injury prone. Acutally the first season he missed over 3 months with a knee injury. If you want to put huet in the same level as brodeur,luongo etc…he has to play more than 40 games and stay healthy.

The poster above you is saying that huet should start as many games as the likes as brodeur, luongo and kipper. I’m saying he could be a starter if he could stay healthy long enough to play more than 40

Our goaltending for the most part been very good but our faceoffs have been bad most of the year. Everything starts with puck possession, you control the puck you control the game. Ask the redwings they are the best at it

Price is not ready to be #1, he has only played 18 games…he shows no sign of being a phenom right now, he needs work adn that should be done else where…either leave him up here and play once in a while or send him down to play all the time…but use him as backup not an insult to Huets success

why elsewhere, this is where he wants to play, and hes a first rounder,he knows his role, dont judge him based on one game.there was a three game stretch when huet was hurt that he allowed three goals in three games.hasent played in a week.we got a point out of it.thats what 8 points in four games? im not complaining.

He only got a fews seconds over 12 mins. last game and he scored 2, got one assist and set up a few more great chances as well.

Carbo has a dislike for Ryder. Ever since Ryder went into a slump. I do believe that it is Ganiey pushing Carbo to play him. I do believe that if it was entirely up to Carbo Ryder still would be up in the press box….

I am tired of too much hype for something that may not come as quickly as people want or expect (the pressure on this kid is alot). I support Price 100%, but not at the cost of precious points with all this parity. Price is Ice, I have said that in the past and I know I will say it again, but I think needs a little work and regular play, (not forever, I said a month or so in HAM). Huet, IMO needs to play more often right now. If Huet is sick and did not want to play, then I apologize to Price for saying he should have been benched, but not for the lousy goals he let in (and this is not based soley on tonight’s game either). The boys worked very hard out there in my opinion. If Huet wanted to play and was benched, then I guess bad decision made. I am a die hard fan and watching Huet lately was like back when he first took over;
GP Mins W L T OT GA SA SO GAA Sv%
36 2,102 18 11 – 4 77 1,085 7 2.20 .929
Nice stats…
Anyways, I don’t want to waste the talented Mr.Price (he is good and could be great…), I hope whatever the team does is best for him, with which I may or may not agree.

Bottom Lines: Should we have won? Yes, if the offense can pot four, the Habs should win under Yeats’ Two Goal Rule.

Did Price play poorly? Yes, in a word he sucked. On the winner, he looked slower than crap coming out of a dog’s ass in winter. But in his defense, he knows he played badly.

Send him down or trade him? Absolutely not!!! Huet got the previous win, but he didn’t look like the second coming of Roy by any stretch of the imagination.

The offense has been on fire lately and has been fun to watch. As badly as Price played, we were never out of the game and actually had a chance to win it.

I hate the points system in the new NHL, but let’s not complain about the “loser point” folks. Last time I looked only the Leafs had more of them in the Eastern Conference than us.

The Eastern Conference is a glorified house league. I’m not even sold on the idea that the Sens will finish at the top. My New Year’s resolution for ’08 is to not go mental about the Habs any more. I’ll save it for the playoffs when it really matters.

On another note, we still have the potential evening entertainment of the Leafs getting smoked by the Flyers on HNIC. Just 70 minutes to go.

I’m into realism, it’s not fair to expect a team with 11? rookies to win the Cup, I’ve spent 15 years of wishing and hoping. That doesn’t work, it take a plan, and Gainey has one.

I’m tired of Montreal fans jumping on and off the bandwagon. Who the freak cares anymore who starts as long as I don’t have to listen to people badmouthing everybody after they have a bad game, shift, line change, how they taped their stick, why they smile when they’re on the bench, who has a better haircut, who speaks English, Russian, or French.

I’m tired of so called Montreal fans turning into Laughs fans. I don’t turn on my player if he has a bad game. i support him and tell the he’ll get them next time. As I’m sure the entire coaching staff and every player in that room told Price today. sure, he sucked, whoop dee freaking dooooooo. it’s ONE GAME, DAT’S ALL FOLKS.

now….if it is at all possible to blame ONE player on a TEAM for a loss, then it is usually the Goalie as he is the last point of defense. Especially when the forwards are scoring and the defense isn’t breaking down.

Folks, the loss in this exciting tilt goes on the head of one player : PRICE.

He should not have started, he was cold, and was put into a firestorm home crowd pressure cooker with the most potent SNIPER in the league gunning at him for 60minutes, the same beast that tore the mighty SENS to peices and made them look like a bottom feeder slime leach pit team of garbage, thats what OVECHKIN LEAGUE ON HIS OWN can do to you, never mind what that will do to a LATHERGIC cold 20yearold.

EVERY SINGLE GOAL should have been saved…everyone.
all were shots from FAR AWAY…FAR FAR AWAY….

and HUET would have saved them all.

Factor in Koivu and some other GIFTS and the score should have been 7-0 HABS

Having seen him play a few times in toronto, I think he would look pretty good in a habs jersey. He’s a big, strong centreman which we lack.

However, I wouldn’t sign him to a long-term deal and we are pretty deep in centre with players like Koivu, Plekanec, Chipchura, Lapierre, Begin, Grabovski (that’s for Smart Dog!). I just don’t want us to sacrifice ice-time and delopment of our younger players.

There are a lot of good side from this game. Our new 1st line with K1 and Kovy is really fun to watch.
This is again another learning experience for Carbo. If Huet is sick, he should have called up Halak to back up Price. Price needed to be pulled after the 3rd goal. If Huet is not sick, then I don’t know what Carbo is watching.
Another point: Latendresse can’t shoot backhand. After he missed so many chances, why not put Ryder for once in the PP? Did Carbo have a deal with smart dog?

I am for one not going to rail on Carey Price. He is a kid and he is going to have good nights and bad nights. We can’t be throwing him to the wolves yet, maybe in a few years. He still plays too deep in the net and against the likes of lovin chicken you will get pwned! The team played great the goalie played awful, it happens. Would have liked to win, but sometimes you can learn a lot in a loss. This team is getting better offensively and thats a good thing. Carey Price will have good nights unfortunately when you are young there are growing pains. Go Habs Go!

I’m not sure that you can heap so much praise on Ovechkin as the league’s number one sniper, then follow it up with a statement saying that every goal should have been saved and that the loss was Carey’s fault… much less say that Huet would have stopped them all.

i blamed huet on here for a loss earlier in the season so this time i’m going to blame price!!he lost us this game!pure and simple………no doubt about it!!if he is suppose to that elite goalie everyone is taking about then we better start working with himand correct his mistakes!as one of the other posters said the one problem i’d correct is going downon your knees and staying there or not getting up quick enough to get back into position!!(rollie melanson’s fault)maybe he has to go as the goaltending coach!!hire the allare brothers to help carey with his development!!!i mean come on some of those save a beer league goalie would’ve have stopped or the carey price in the world junior gold medal game because he would’ve been standing up and not on his knees!!luongo in his first year would have made those save look routine!!!yeah we got a point and deserved 2!we need these games and we had played great!a.kostitsyn is becoming a force and like i’ve said on here all long and will never bash him kovalev is the best player on the team and has come to play evey game so far!!!and should be made captain for the rest of the season!!!

I often find it interesting when people keep talking about a goalie (this goes for both Price and Huet)letting in “a soft one”. This is something we have heard repeatedly on this forums lately. What exactly is a ‘soft goal’ at the NHL level. I have never played the position before but I think it is safe to say that most non pro goalies would have a heck of a time trying to stop most shots they face at this level and pace of play. Of course there are good goals and bad goals but I doubt there are very many ‘soft’ ones.

Anyone out there that has not played hockey at a high level want to try and explain how much work it takes to reach the NHL?

For all those fans and sportswriters who think Carey Price is our no. 1 starting goalie, I rest my case. He will be our future starting goalie, but not yet. Being from Hamilton, I wanted the guy to play as much as possible in Hamilton and be called up around this time to play for the Habs. I honestly thought, in my opinion, he would have been a better goalie mentally and physically prepared playing for the Bulldogs than he is now by sitting and watching from the bench.
This was a last minute decision before the regular season began that Guy Carbonneau wanted Carey to play in Hamilton and Bob Gainey wanted him to stay and learn in Montreal.

Give credit to Washington as well. Many snipers on this team and lots of offensive power! Hopefully the kid has not lost his confidence when playing against them again at the end of this month or his next starting match. We do not want to rush him too quickly to say he is our No.1 when Cristobal Huet is.

I have to agree that Price seems to demonstrate poise beyond his years. I liken what his current situation to a sort of boot camp. Although the Hamilton experience would have afforded him much more ice time, I believe he is learning more here. There is allot more to being a franchise player than what happens on the ice. I am encouraged by his ability to stay within himself and deal effectively with what must have been tough post game situation.

Well said, Mr. Stubbs! Thank you for bringing some much needed sanity and reason.

Some fans live vicariously to the extreme when it comes to the Habs’ successes or failures. And they seem to forget that there is another team on the ice that is trying to win.

Francois Gagnon reported last night that Price had to be consoled by Saku Koivu in the dressing room. He actually had tears in his eyes because he felt that he had let the team down. Koivu put his arm around his neck and told him the team lost the game, not him alone, and to let it go. I think Koivu’s advice should be listened to by everyone.

BTW, that bum, Brodeur, let in 4 goals on 24 shots through 2 periods before Boston went into a defensive shell in the 3rd period.

Dave, some of us have been suggesting that Price seems to have changed his style from earlier this year. He’s always down on his knees and teams have been beating him lately by going top shelf. Has he changed his style or has been forced to change it?

The overtime loss yesterday is not a major problem, infact its no problem at all, they started a cold goalie against a hot forward team…I just wonder why Carbo didn’t put Huet in for the third?, I think it would have made the difference in the game…

Not that Im jumping on Price, its not his fault, you are going to have a bad game here and there ala words from Kovalev, Carbo should have noticed and made the switch…

I hope Price plays Tuesday, Im sure he will bounce back with a stellar performance….

Thank you, Jim. It’s always nice to hear from “the voice of reason” coming through the proverbial fog of dissension and lunacy. This young man is 20 years old, he will be here for good, long time, and rest assured, he will bring us to the Promised Land.

It make me sick to hear that so called “fans” were booing him in our own building. As Mr. Gainey was so astute to point out for this digression in the past, “We don’t need those people, we don’t want those people, they’re jealous people, yellow people,I think they’re a bunch of gutless bastards, to be honest.”

I think some of Al Pacino’s speech in ‘Scent Of A Woman’ applies to all those naysayers out there, who take it upon themselves to be the judge and jury before all the evidence has been handed down.

“But there isn’t nothin’ like the sight of an amputated spirit; there is no prosthetic for that. You think you’re merely sendin’ this splendid foot-soldier back home to Oregon (Hamilton) with his tail between his legs, but I say you are executin’ his SOUL!!”

Spot on! The kid played poorly in a regular season game against the Caps. (Let’s all forget how he stones the leafs.) Crap, if $1,000 bucks was wagered on yesterday’s game in Las Vegas, I’d be surprised.

Thanks for the dose of sanity Dave. It’s a shame the perfect goalie doesn’t exist – one that never has a bad game, and has a 1.00 save percentage. A real shame.

Have a little perspective people. There’s no-one here that can say they are not impressed with Price. Every player is learning – the younger they are the more they have to learn… it’s not worth griping about the rare bad game. “The only argument with an east wind is to put on your overcoat.”

You’re absolutely right! That’s an important point everyone is forgetting. Had the whistle not blown so quickly on Kostitsyn’s second goal, we’d be talking about how the Habs have found there scoring touch and how Kostitsyn is turning into a real scoring threat. Although, I do think that Price’s performance would be under a little bit of scrutiny, even if the Habs won. That’s just human nature.

Thanks to our improved play lately the jam-packed Eastern conference is starting to look a little less jam-packed. The Habs are now SEVEN points up on 10th place Buffalo (as well as Atlanta and Florida, with the Laffs 8 big points behind us). Still crowded at the top though (where we are!); only 1 point behind the #2 team (NJ), so a virtual tie behind the leading Senators. Pretty good for a team that was supposed to finish in the bottom of the league. And also pretty good for a team with such a bunch of whining complainers for fans!

I like offense in any form that it comes in. Offense is fun, defense is work. Work sucks! It’s a four-letter word. If you have the puck, they don’t. I don’t care if we win a bunch of 7-6 games. Just get the two points!

LOL Ian…..I wouldn’t want to mess with you
anyways, I read DD’s info after I posted and well he must have some liking of the Habs but still……I dont like the Logo period. and its my right to comment about it since he posted it on our Habs sight.
friend of yours or not.
that jersey is the enemy

Have no problem with either of them starting. I think people get mad when they bash Price because he IS a rookie, and is ALLOWED to make mistakes, I don’t see a problem with 60% Huet and 40% Price tandem. The guy won a Junior Championship and a Calder Cup. He has nothing left to prove in a lesser league. he is ONLY 20!!!!

And everyone on this site has said Price had a bad game pretty much, we just get annoyed when people throw him under the bus and say he should get demoted with no reasons other than to say Huet is the number one goalie. Huet WAS sick yesterday and bringing up Halak to sit on the bench is a waste of cap space.

Price is here to stay, people need to get that. He will get better, people need to get that also. Huet will not sign here for 2 more years, that’s the bottom line. I don’t wanna get nothing for him, and he has not proved himself Huet has gotten the chance and gotten injured every time he gets the chance.

If you can say, he’s like a Souray, just a goaltender. He can play awesome…but for how long?

Question for Ian – We didn’t get to see much of this Subban kid in the junior tournament. The Habs have a lot of young defensemen in the pipe but realistically we only have three jobs open for the next few years. Is there any way you see this kid being converted to forward at some point in time? I realize that’s a touchy issue with our posters but seriously, it may prove beneficial to the team and to Subban. If McDonagh, Emelin, and O’Byrne (that’s a lot of ifs) become regulars, then this kid, as well as others, will be out of luck.

Well, I don’t want to make the playoffs this year in order to miss it the next, I’m tired of it.

Price gives us the best chance for long-term success, in my opinion. We’ve missed the playoffs WITH Huet also, have we not. So I fail to see the correlation between keeping Huet and making the playoffs. Playoff games occur every two days and sometimes every day. Are you really that confident in Huet’s body to keep up? i don’t know if I am since the consensus is that he can’t play 3 games in four days.

I didn’t watch the game yesterday but i caught the last goal in overtime, i have to agree it wa a crappy goal. The kid is young and he will have his share of bad games. Goalies win more games for the team then they lose. He will come around and he realized he played poorly. Onto the next game, fun seeing these high scoring games though rether then 2-1 games all the time.

As for Todd’s article this moring. Jack seems to think that Ovechkin is coming to Montreal. I liked his comments about playing in Mtl, gives me goosebumbs to think of GR8 alex here with the talent coming up. I’m not saying that he’ll be a hab but the way he talks about Mtl, i think , makes Mtl the top team on his list to play for. He loves the noise, the fans and the music. Here’s to O.V. in Mtl in the near future.

Now I certainly don’t entirely agree with assessments (making Lapierre an “unlikely” future NHL 3rd liner is a disgrace) but it makes for interesting reading. With these prospects alone, these are our best line conbinations in a few years:

I have to agree,someone posted on the tsn site of this also.. The reason that some fans are coming down on price for what was probably his worst game to date. Is because of the fact that when Huet is in he gets bashed for everything even when he wins it’s never enough. He can stop 40 shots get a shut-out and fans are still screaming trade Huet trade Huet…. I think for both Huet fans and fans who realise that Price is going to be a great goalie,someday but not right now. He needs Huet. The fans have obviously decided to join the huet side or the price side, Thankfully Huet and Price work well together and help each other. If you look at the time that huet was out with an injury Price played ok but he struggled in those games and then there was the last 2 games the first one Huet travelled and practised with the team…Price has a better game and won… Huet backed up price and again price looked more calm and played well….. HMMMMM For all of you that are sold on the idea that Price can take the #1 job next season and Halak can back him up….You might want to rethink this. Halak being young also is not going to sit by and be a back-up.. This in my opinion will not help price to develope… I also think if this were to happen next season and things don’t go well for Price and the fans start on him, he will look back to this season and remember how the fans annointed him the habs saviour and stanley cup winner and tossed Huet aside like garbage (not everyone)That includes the coachiing staff and he will think to himself hey I’m young do I want to stay with a team who’s fans turn on a dime and boo you off the ice.and the coach tends to call you out to the media then benches you. or do I want to sign somewhere else… I personally hope I am wrong I would hate to see Price go He is an exceptional goaltender and will just get better but right now he needs a veteran and a mentor and Huet is more then will to help him. Knowing full well that the team is looking to make carey the franchise goalie, it just shows what kind person christobal is.I think everyone needs to get off the goalies backs and stop expecting them to always be the ones who win every game. They win as a team and lose as a team and yes every goalie has a horrible game, but it’s just One game… Yesturdays game the defence that has been so great was not great and price didn’t make some key saves but also there were alot of open net shots that missed… Look a the positive side the boys battled back and kept scoring something that they haven’t been doing…. Leave Christobal and Carey Alone together they make a great goaltending pair….

More teams are now showing how to shoot at Price with his butterfly style. I, for one, believe he is going down to early and in order to beat Price, shoot high. Bruce Boudreau the coach of the Capitals (he coached Hershey Bears to the finals against Hamilton Bulldogs last year) had the advantage on what to tell his players on how to shoot at Carey in yesterdays game. Is it me or do I find Carey going down to early in the butterfly style? He did not go down as much last year in the Calder Cup finals. Perhaps the partial blame should go to Roland Melanson, the goalie coach.

we may not have the players in 2 years for the playoffs you are looking towards, and nobody is throwing Price under a bus or wanting him demoted, I just want him to get more ice time and since Huet is number 1 (and deserves fans respect), we should play him 85% of the rest of the games, and I think it might be great for the kid to go to HAM for a few weeks and get some real ice time to condition. as far as the injury prone Huet, man he is not over the hill and he is no Hasek, who is over 40 and still player great…with injuries every season. Don’t make an argument or twist any posts around to make it sound like everyone who is critical of a game (and nobodys decision was based soley on yesterdays game, at least not mine)

I completly agree with you! saying price is the number one is ridiculous.
yeah, he’s had some great success in the junior ranks with hamilton and team canada but mind you those were all guys from junior and they all practically have no nhl experience. obviously, the mhl level niis much more elevated so ofcours price mught have some off nights. to have a good team you have to have good goaltenders and frankly speaking, the habs have one of the best duos in the league.trading huet for a power forward isn’t a good idea because look at a lot of the teams with star players such as lecavalier, ovechkin and kovalchuk,are their teams in the playoffs? no, why? some crappy defence but it all comes down to the goaltending and lets just say their goalies aren’t the sharpest. i’m not trying to say that carey price is the equivalent to those goalies. he’s going to be very good but he’s learning and he needs someone to look up to and halak or maybe even danis…yyyno, that just won’t cut it.

It is bizarre to read all of the posts regarding this game. Some of the posts are perceptive, yet so many are stupid and mean-spirited. Does everyone understand now: Price knows he played poorly. Enough now for Christ’s sake.

Only on this site could the Habs lose one game and have so many people call for (1) Gainey and Carbonneau to be fired, (2) Koivu to be benched, (3) Price to be lynched and (4) Latendresse to be demoted. Carbonneau was absolutely right in his post-game assessment: the TEAM lost this game. Did everyone get that? The TEAM lost this game. Anyone who blames one player is, with all due respect, a moron.
_________________________________________________________“The crowd doesn’t give a crap as long as you bring the money in.”
–Guy Lafleur

price should be sent down to the minors for a conditioning stint. Let him work out the bugs by playing more down there.Halak can do the job for a few weeks and huet wants to play alot so it would be good for both goalies.

Not to many kids can jump from JR. to pro. and make a huge contribution the first couple of years. Goal tenders take the longest to mature and it takes a very special player (goaler) to make the jump from JR To the show before 23 or more.

Interesting observation. I haven’t watched too many Patrick Roy games while he was a hab, but I wonder if Patrick played in a similar style (or rather fathered it). I like Carey’s basic positioning (I used to cringe when Aebischer slid left and right like a walrus), but have noticed that he does go down early in proportion to how close they are coming in. Not sure if that makes sense, but hey I’m not a goalie.

When I wear this logo on a shirt, I usually have leaf fans come up to me, wanting to talk hockey. I let them drone on, and then ask them if they enjoy being illiterate and a loser. I never had to say this to a Habs fan before. Please re-read the emblem and help me keep my belief that we are smarter than they are.

Da Hema,I cant agree with you more ,allot of these fans dont let up. we cant win them all and we did come out with a point.I think the management know alot more then we do on who to play and when to play them.I know everyone has their own view and sometimes some comments are better left unsaid,then there would not be this name calling.We as habs fans have to get along to support our team,just imagine getting in a fight around our kids over such stupid comments about one another dissagreing about who should be in the net. GO HABS GO .

He didn’t forget one. Of all the players listed, most have had a bad game here and there, but have good stats. One has really bad stats and is having a terrible year. Can we stop pretending he’s being picked on when he’s having not a bad game but a very bad year?

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

Have faith guys…there are many 12 year old whiners here who don’t watch games and then post player-bashing passages based on tsn highlights. Price hadn’t played in 2 weeks. He knows he played poorly. The team also fought poor reffing at pivotal moments. If you want to feel better about the posters at this site, check out habsblog.com. It is juvenile and hateful stuff. The season is a long journey and so far our path has been full of emotional rides and reason to believe in the future. What more can a fan want?!?

As I wrote yesterday, he sucked. He knows he sucked. Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could see that he sucked. The Who’s Tommy would have sensed that he sucked. Had the Habs had adequate goaltending, they would have won the game. End of story. Do I want to see Price sent down? No! He’s a kid and will get better. Do I think his confidence is shot after yesterday? No! he’s young, but he is a professional. I’d come right back with him against the ‘hawks Tuesday night. He can either play at this level right now, or he can’t. Let’s all find out together.

While I’m ranting, I hate to break it to you guys, but no one gives a rat’s ass damn about the Spengler Cup down here in the lower 48. I knew a defenseman named Spengler when I was growing up and he wouldn’t even wear a cup!

cournoyer12, I noticed the same thing but did not want to bring it up for fear of being accused of disliking Price again. I don’t dislike Price at all. I hope he is killer for us someday. I just think things are moving WAAAY to fast.

I can’t help but laugh at the comments that Price has already won a Calder cup and so has nothing left to prove in the AHL. He has never even played a season in the AHL. Not even half a season. All he played was the playoff run and it was a great one. But let me ask you, if a new goalie came up to the NHL at playoff time and got on a great run and won a cup (anyone think of a goalie who fits that??) would you then say the next year that he had nothing left to prove in the NHL?? What next then? Just put him into the Hall of Fame and he can retire, no need to play any more he has done all there is to do.

People please… try to take deep breaths, you might feel better.

Again, please don’t get the wrong idea, I am not upset with Price at all and I don’t feel he should be sent down. I just don’t think it’s time to put him into Habs folk lore just yet.

Koivu should have been benched after that candy ass hooking penalty he took in the offensive zone yesterday. If you’re going to take a penalty in the offensive end, then for the love of God show some real malice and throttle someone. It’s not like the first time this season he has been called for a “stick tweak.” He never gets a manly penalty for say charging or boarding. Always the same, another hooking penalty. Move your feet Saks, that’s what they are there for. Several coaches I have played for when I was younger would have had you sit after that one yesterday, especially if you were the captain.

I agree with you for the most part Yeats. You are perceptive to have noticed some of the poor penalties Koivu has been assessed of late. But bench him? I think a brief chat between Carbo and Koivu should put an end to this rather than bringing out the hammer (e.g., benching) and risk alienating players. Koivu remains the only true centre on the Habs–one I might add who actually can win some face-offs.
_________________________________________________________“The crowd doesn’t give a crap as long as you bring the money in.”
–Guy Lafleur

I would not be surprised to find out that such a conversation has already taken place at some time over the first half of the season. Yet, he continues to get these penalties with way too much frequency. What he did in the room yesterday with Price after the game is what a captain should do. He needs to show the same sort of leadership on the ice more often than he has thus far this year. Again, if you can bench Henri Richard in the Stanley Cup finals, you can sit Koivu down to send a message. Come to think of it, Al MacNeil’s decision may have been the reason the Habs beat a heavily favored ‘hawks team on the road in Game Seven in ’71.

Haven’t had a chance to post in a while, but Carey stood out to me as the guy who just didn’t have his game yesterday. Not that he’s a bad player, just had a bad game. Hopefully he learns from it, bounces back and goes on with things.

I am encouraged that the team bounced back from a 2nd period deficit twice. That type of resilency has been missing all year from this team and was nice to see!

I watched every game this season and saw them in pre-season. This was not the first game Price stunk it up, it will not be his last. But I am sick of hearing how “Stellar” he is. He has not shown this time and time again,Huet has. I just want to see Huet in between the pipes more than Price (2:1 at least). Seems like everyone does agree he can not take the job on his own right and needs some work. Well why not go get it in HAM for a while and come out ready for or get the team into (because of another Huet injury, please) playoffs.

I came out with “Price is ICE”, “Halak is Back” (that one never caught on because he never saw ice time), the latest that may work could be “Playoff Price”, he’s done it already maybe he will be absolutely brilliant then (wouldn’t that be a fairy tale ride, I would love it)

I am tired of all this, re-read what I am saying. So it was only Huet that lost the last game or all the others and not the team, well guess what, he was COLD, just coming off an injury, so I guess we should CUT HIM SOME SLACK!

I must have forgotten to take my grumpy pills because looking at this discussion makes me want to sign off for a couple of days. We didn’t win. It’s not like we played stellar hockey… afternoon games are kind of iffy. Price came off the bench cold and wasn’t as good as he normally is. Okay – done. Go to Timmies for a coffee and let this one go!

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

After an emotional lost and all the heated arguments, it is nice to read some of the more thoughtful posts. That’s what is good being a Habs fan. You never feel alone.
We have a young team and an “inexperienced” coach. We’ll suffer some set back. As long as we evaluate the good and the bad after each game and continue to improve as a team (coaches included), we’ll have a bright future.
The good things: We create scoring chances. The Kovy line is our money line.
The bad things: Let the opposing forward skate freely into our zone and shoot (the forwards need to keep skating and back checking). Price has to improve on his fundamentals (glove hand). Lose critical face-off in our zone and allow the opponent to score right after (get ready to block shots if we lose the face-off).
I am feeling good with this team.

Things have been much better lately then the doom and gloom suggests. For a team who a month ago we were concerned whether they could even score more then 2 goals in a game our offence has sure awaken lately. It is fun to watch games where if the other team scores a 3’rd or even 4’th goal we don’t have to pack it in and say ‘well that’s that, on to the next game’

Really all that you can ask from a team is to provide you with exciting hockey and a chance to win each game. The point of the game is to entertain you, and you can be entertained even in a lose. If all you want is to win then you would not even watch the games you could just look at the score the next day and see if you are satisfied or not.

Yesterday, Carey Price showed a maturity beyond his years by staying in the dressing room after the game and saying he has to play better, accepting responsibility for his work which he knows was unacceptable. He doesn’t need anyone else to tell him that.

For heaven’s sake, the kid is 20. Last year he was in junior hockey. He’s on a huge learning curve and he’s going to have bad games. Martin Brodeur has bad games. So did Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, Georges Vézina… need I continue?

Afternoon games do seem to be the bane of the Habs. However, a point is a point and 4 goals for, making 24 in the last 5 games. That’s offense, for those of you complaining that Carbo’s “system” doesn’t allow for it. The open net misses by Koivu and Latendresse may have cost a point, but not even Crosby scores on every opportunity. A poor game by Price? Certainly. Do we try to run him out of town for 1 poor outing? Some of you think so. I think not. He will be the #1; it depends on when Huet goes, end of February or end of the season.BTW, Huet has practically zip for playoff experience, so those going with that aren’t looking at his career. The other thing is he has been out with injuries 2 seasons in a row. If he plays too much, it will probably happen again. For the moment, he’s an all-star and hopefully strong enough to carry through to the playoffs, but I have a feeling that injury bug is going to grab him again.

Dave- Isn’t funny how people jump on others when they can not get there own way in life.

It is one of the worst traits of us humans, It mostly comes from those who have never strived to be at the top of anything in there own life, they just expect and think they deserve what they want, without any understanding of how one gets to the top of the mountain.

yeah HUET has blown it also…we’ve seen it but he is more consistent of late…thats all.

and as for last years debacle against TORONTO….that was 110% CARBS FAULT for us not getting in the playoffs…his WORST coaching move of his career. Starting HUET in a CRITICAL GAME after his massive layoff…and it was HALAK who brought us that far…should have been HALAK in net…

Ragging on a 20 year old. What do you expect from a man who has not played in over ten days?

How many 2 goals leads have Huet blown? Hey? How many? I CAN’T HEAR YOU !!!!

You people have very short memories don’t ya eh. Huet had 3 very soft goals scored against him in the last game in Toronto last year. The excuse was because he just got back from a long time off and an injury. But Huet said that he felt very good and could play in the last game. But Price has no excuse today right .

Who was in net this year (well in 2007) against Nashville and blew two, two goal leads and lost in OT? That goalie tried to smash his stick over the crossbar and could not even accomplish that.

Let me give you a hint first name starts with H and ends in T…………… Does HUET ring a bell?

Althought I missed the first period it shure seems like it was a pretty exciting game to watch for the spectators at the Bell,… this is something that seems to be happening more and more now that the team has gotten his offensive game played at a higher level than they did earlier on.

This team has scored 23 goals while earning 8 points out of 10 since the line changes by Carbo 5 games ago and as a bonus we’re now getting our fair share of hight light reel goals too…. and thats the way it ought to be with some of the talents we have on this team.

I have notice the use of Sergei K. playing the point during some of the PPs in the last 3 games,.. I like this kind of decision by Carbo as it shows that he is looking to stimulate our offensive game any way he can.

A.Kost made it looked so easy on his goal while Kovy’s goal was the fabulous ending of a great exchanges of 5 passes executed in all directions across the neutral zone,… this was Red Army type plays and Excellence and my favorite goal this season.

Why all this talk of trading Ryder? This is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater out with the bath.

Traditionally, players traded at the deadline are veterans. The rationale is simple: a “Have Not” team is (re)building, and unloads its vets for prospects and/or drafts. The “Have” teams are pushing for playoff success now, and can therefore afford to part with future prospects.

Trading Ryder? Insane. What would we want for him?

If we’re building, I assume you’d want prospects. How about a 4th year player whose defensive game is drastically improving, an established scorer with a fantastic shot, who hits, and will likely have a long career in the big leagues?

If we’re making a playoff push, how about a player that has led his team in goals the last 2 seasons? Sounds nice, eh?

I’m into realism, it’s not fair to expect a team with 11? rookies to win the Cup, I’ve spent 15 years of wishing and hoping. That doesn’t work, it takes a plan, and Gainey has one.

I’m not a fan who wishes for one CUP, I want MORE than one. That’s the difference between some posters and others. We know what it means to be a Canadiens fan. It means you demand excellence, with sustained success ALL the time. We’re nowhere near that at the moment, the only way we can get there is by growing. and that is what we are seeing on a team.

when you first tried to ride a bike, did you fall?

I’m tired of Montreal fans jumping on and off the bandwagon. Who the freak cares anymore who starts as long as I don’t have to listen to people badmouthing everybody after they have a bad game, shift, line change, how they taped their stick, why they smile when they’re on the bench, who has a better haircut, who speaks English, Russian, or French, oh, and who talks about our high taxes!

I’m tired of so called Montreal fans turning into Laughs fans. I don’t turn on my player if he has a bad game. i support him and tell the he’ll get them next time. As I’m sure the entire coaching staff and every player in that room told Price today. sure, he sucked, whoop dee freaking dooooooo. it’s ONE GAME, DAT’S ALL FOLKS.

Hey Dave – Is there any chance you could post a thread for today’s gold medal junior game. I believe it’s a 2pm start. Just a byline title is all we would need so all us hockey nuts would have a space to communicate on. Just a thought.

Face it most fans were we unfortunate enough to see them get to the GM’s job for a day, would be attempting trades in the period intermissions. Because when it comes to players, it’s not what you’ve done, it’s not what you’ve done for me lately, it’s what you’ve done for me last.

Ryder and Huet aren’t going anywhere fans should stop talking about the alternative. The team will be fighting for position in the stretch, you don’t gut your team in those circumstances.

This Backstrom kid scares me. He had a slow start at the beginning of the year (he is a rookie afterall) but is really starting to come on. Along with Nylander he helps give Washington two decent lines. He’s really got the playmaker’s touch – he doesn’t panic with the puck. He could even give Kane a run for his money for rookie of the year before it’s all said and done.

Any thoughts on the Habs trading for Semin? (assuming he were available). Washington may not want to resign him after they break the bank on Ovechkin this summer. He’s been hurt this year but is probably just about ready to break through. I’d also love to get Jeff Carter out of Philadelphia for the same reasons. Guys like these could be the next Stastny or Getzlaf. (I know Krob, there’s not much hope of getting either Semin or Carter!) I’d rather take a shot at these guys then commit to overpaid free agents.

Moey, before today is over, & based on all previous threads, TradeRyder & Smart Dog will be on here saying that Ryder is a waste of a sweater & should be traded. You are a regular on HIO, & surely you must know how negative they are about Ryder.

Ed, I know all about the Ryder trade talk, it’s been going on since October. I posted those comments because infanteer was the first comment on this thread this morning where nobody was talking about Ryder. Hope this clears up the confusion.

I have to say that a Habs game at 12:30 on a Saturday afternoon is pretty weird. This is the kind of thing that can totally throw a team out of sync….Let’s hope not.

On another level….makes for a great Saturday afternoon when coupled with the Gold Medal game with Canada/Sweden! I guess I won’t be getting many chores done today. I actually thought I might get something done this morning….but, here I sit, pouring over HIO. No surprise there!

With no Habs game tonight, what will I watch? Maybe I will spend some quality time with the family……..nawww, I’ll watch the Flyers “spankification” (courtesy: Yeats Dictionary of Words Suitable for Print) of those laffable leafs.

I’ll also be watching the Sens play TB tonight! I love seeing the look on Tortarella’s face when he is pissed-off. And…. hopefully Vinny will get fed-up with it all and call BG to see if there is any room with the Habs!

Todays game should be a good test for the Habs. Last year the team didn’t show up for Saturday afternoon games and the Caps haven’t lost a match in Canada this season. It appears that Ovechkin and co. turn their game up a notch or two when they play in front of a jam packed arena and hockey crazy Canadian fans.

Carbo’s decision to stick with his line-up from Thursday night is a good one. I’m rooting for Price to impress.

If there is a lesson to be learned today, it is that Carey Price has to play at least one/one game a week to stay sharp. Sitting him for almost two weeks is not doing him much good. While he can learn from the bench, he has to also play his share of games.
That lighting goal by OV on the PP threw everyone off their game.

I say leave Price alone he is still a kid and under one h… of a lot of pressure .Lets not destroy him>re comments on him not being focused did you ever watch Dryden play.He looked out of it when the play was in the other end.I saw him let a shot in from near centre ice while he rested on his stick.I would say he was a pretty good goalie

I assume you are directing your remarks towards me. I understand the Habs have many young players who will need to adjust on the fly to professional hockey. I doubt very much my comment that he is unfocused will cause him any undue distress, especially since Price himself admitted after this game he played poorly and was not focused. Still, Price is now in the big show and he needs to understand he must concentrate at all times.
_________________________________________________________“The crowd doesn’t give a crap as long as you bring the money in.”
–Guy Lafleur

Murray makes $4.1 mil a year – including the same amount next year. Right now he’s no better than Ryder and we only have to pay him until the end of the year. Plus Murray is 36 years old in 2008-09 and is basically over the hill. Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather promote a kid from Hamilton and pay him $600000 grand. This is the type of deal that the Lousy Leafs are famous for – better them than us.

I didn’t get to see the game on television so I listened to it on CJAD. Couple of observations:

(1) Price didn’t play well from the sounds of it but there is no reason to throw him under the bus. He had a bad game. Let’s get over it and move on. In previously important games (Calder Cup playoffs) and WJC last year he came to play. He’s 20 years old so we shouldn’t forget that.

(2) Overall, I think the HAbs have played very well for the first half beating expectations. Remember, not one of the so-called experts at TSN thought they would even make the playoffs. Candidly, I didn’t think so either but they have proven me wrong and I’m happy to eat crow.

Obviously what the Canadiens REALLY need is a completely CRAPPY back-up goalie so we can have NO controversy!
_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

I did not say you were racist against French speaking people or French Canadians. I also did not say anything about language at all. I simply pointed out that you are obviously racist against France or people from there. What other reason do you have to bring it up in your dislike of Huet.

You said “By the way I hope you enjoy your new team next year when the little frenchman leaves”

Why else would you say ‘little frenchmen’ unless you were using it in a derogatory way. What other purpose does it serve? Don’t hide behind the French Canadian roots in your family after the fact. If that is how you feel then be man enough to admit it.

And in case it matters to you, I am not French and have no ties to French people.

My feelings have nothing to do with political correctness. I could give a flying shit about political correctness.

My limited vocabulary? Perhaps it is you that has the limited vocabulary if the best you can come up with is to call Huet a little frenchmen because he is little and French. You can be annoyed with me all you want for calling you out, it does not change anything. You made a racist comment (there that is 3 for you) and instead of owning up to it you are trying to push the attention on to me.

I will say it once more and then move on as I have already made my point and don’t need to argue endlessly over it. There is NO OTHER REASON for you to have said ‘little frenchmen’ unless you meant it disrespectfully. You said it. Deal with it.

I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE LANGUAGE. I am talking about an entire country of people from FRANCE. That is a CULTURE. And you can be RACIST against a CULTURE. Are Jewish people a race?? You are not going to tell me that no one is racist against Jews?

If I said ‘those cock sucking Finnish people can go to hell’ are you gonna argue semantics with me about whether I am racist or a bigot?

Stop trying to deflect attention away from the subject. Stop trying to talk circles around it. STOP CALLING ME moron, dim wit, unintelligent. Go back and read our posts, I have not insulted you once. Just pointed out that your comment was ignorant. Now I see that you are the type of person who likes to say derogatory things and then blame everyone else for it and try to change the subject and deflect the attention away from it.

Either own up to what you said and back it up, or apologize for it and move on, or even just leave it alone and let it die. But for the love of God don’t post more EXCUSES about it.

thank you idle for talking on the same lines as myself. I do not want to take anything away from this kid, he has a very promising career. Just if he needs work, which I think he does, he should go to the minors for a little bit, I have no idea why all these posters jumped on my back when I said this. My point was that we have a number 1 and he should be number 1, tandem goaltending is not always perfect, eveyone wishes we were like DET it works for them because of their system. Price let in more than one lousy goal yesterday, as well as in the other games he has played, if it was not for the poor goaltending, they would have won. Price got 6 starts, wheres Huet’s?

Just heard in RIS (Info Sport) that Bob will address the media tomorrow 10:30 am at Centre Bell. Would be interesting what he has to say. Realistically, we need Ovechkin or someone equivalent if we want to have a chance to win the cup in the next few years. Hope he admits this.

I’m sure that’s it. I’m sure we’re getting Ovechkin. I heard the press conference is at 10:30 because he has to go heal the kids at the Children’s hospital first, and then he’s going to arrive in a flying saucer.

_____________________________________________________________Let the kids play… let the non-performers watch or walk.

I watched the Washington broadcast of the Habs-Caps game, and their announcers discussed this rumour that Ovechkin will be traded. They were almost laughing, but they did manage to explain that Ovechkin is the player Caps management will build around. So whoever thinks Washington will trade Ovechkin is living in a self-contained (and self-delusional) reality. We might as well debate the merits of resurrecting the Rocket….
_________________________________________________________“The crowd doesn’t give a crap as long as you bring the money in.”
–Guy Lafleur

Nobody hates Price, or at least they shouldn’t. All I can say is that Huet should be getting the majority of the starts, which is not the case right now. The argument to Price needs the ice time to develop, well the NHL is no place for this, with the hard work the players in front of the goalie, this is not fair to them trying to groom a great goaltender. Play Huet, and if Price needs the ice time, he should be in Hamilton, he never even played a full season there last year, the kid has been blown into stardom waaaaay too sooon (and all because of what he did in the juniors with an excellent team in front of him don’t forget and with Hamilton alos with an excellent team in front of him) everyone says he needs to develop, but why in the NHL, he is being scored on by no names, not the NHL elite (ok sometimes they are the ones doing the scoring)… come on people, Price is good and may, i say may be a great goalie, but this team needs wins right now, not dreams.

Price has more class at the young age of 20 than half of the players over 30 yrs of age.

He admitted to the reporters that he played awful and needs to play better and his play was unacceptable. That is hard for a goalie to admit to reporters.

Price knows that he was embarrased in that last game against the Caps. I bet the house that Price will come back in the next game he plays and be outstanding. Price has something to prove now. He has to prove that he belongs with the big boys. That last game was a wake up call for Price.

The Habs did not lose today because of Price or the officiating. I am sure Huet would have let in a bad goal had he played since he too loses focus. The team took the Caps too lightly, and they deserved to lose. In the end, the Habs played an undisciplined game. There were some passengers on the ship, Lapierre took another dumb offensive-zone penalty, and the Habs’s centres just cannot win face-offs–the latter of which is really hurting the team. As for this debate over Price going to Hamilton, you can all forget that idea. He makes too much money to go to Hamilton.
_________________________________________________________“The crowd doesn’t give a crap as long as you bring the money in.”
–Guy Lafleur

Goaltending gets way overanalyzed, and both goalies get piled on after a loss. I usually stay away from that, but today even Carey Price knows he had an off day. It’s no picnic having an off day with Ovechkin bearing down on you.

Montreal had it’s defensive breakdowns, they usually do, but they are accustomed to getting bailed out most of the time. Price was very ordinary today and ordinary doesn’t get the job done most nights.

Obviously Carbo will go back to Huet, and he’ll probably ride him like traditional #1 goalies get ridden. At least for a while.

o-zone penalties are always bad to take. Unless you are preventing a scoring chance its not a good penalty. That penatly was taken when we were up 2-0 and had the momentum, the caps then scored which turned the game around. It was far from the reason why we lost but its pretty much where it started. I do agree with you about price, he can’t adjust to nhl shooters playing in the ahl besides we need someone who can win in a shootout and beat the laffs on a regular basis.

they are accustomed to getting bailed out, but thats what good experienced goalies do.its what wins games.if it werent for brodeur, how many cups do you think n.j. would have won? its poss he might go with huet, and prob a good idea so the players get their confidents back. but i also think that price would have a better game than wash.but how good?

I have faith in Price. But no one can know for sure how this story will end. There are a lot of slings and arrows between now and Price becoming a proven NHL goalie. There’s no question his confidence and power to control it is being tested. Let’s just wait and see folks. Meanwhile we have depth in net, and a team that has learned how to score. Let’s hope they all learn to find the best in themselves and each other, and we get to see some great hockey in April and May. Salut les habitant! On y va!

Lot of finger pointing at our young goalie and obviously he wasnt sharp, and I think that can be expected when he hadnt played in 4 games. I think a good situation for both goalies would be that Price play every 3rd game.Havent seen many comments about Ryder, who have been getting bashed most of the season. He appeared to be coming around, having a good game against Tampa with 3 points despite the fact there were only 3 other forwards with less ice time. Against the Caps he had 6:53 in the first 2 periods with only couple of shifts in the 2nd and then over 6 mins in the third and zero in the O/T and they expect him to perform like that— good way to knock his confidence downward again!

I’m not upset at Price for his play, I think he is doing fine. But I can’t help but notice how many people are talking about him not playing much as an EXCUSE. What do you think the point of a back up goalie is? Most teams have backups that don’t play all that often, do they all just expect to lose those games? Of course not. The role of the back up is to be ready to go when needed, to compete and give the team a chance to win while the starter rests or is unavailable.

When you talk about a goalie not being in ‘game shape’ it is usually a veteran who may lose a bit of interest during practice and inter squad games and who is not really tested in practice. This should not be the case for the 20 year old Price.

He needs to be ready to go whether he plays 4 or 10 games or 1 of 10 games.

Now if you want him to get some good NHL experience then that is a different story…

Price stunk yesterday, no doubt about it. He’ll learn though, that his defenseman aren’t always going to be there for him, blocking shots and taking out the forward. He’ll learn that shots are going to get tipped off of sticks and there are going to be bad deflections off of skates, ala Sheldon Souray. This is where an EXPERIENCED goalie, like Huet, who has let in his fair share of bad goals, comes into the picture. He always seems to bounce back. Although, I’m not sure what it is but, Price seems to want to ‘zig’ when he knows he should ‘zag’, if anyone knows what I’m talking about. He looks like he’s struggling with some mechanical element of his game lately. He’ll sort it out.

When everyone was calling for Huet’s head, at the beginning of the season, because he couldn’t beat the leafs, and was letting in some really bad goals, I advocated that Huet start the next game, and give him the opportunity to redeem himself. I think we should allow Price to play against the ‘Hawks, and let him get a chance to redeem himself as well.

First of all….You dont play a cold goalie against a hot sniper Ovechkin shooting team.

-Huet should have started or atleast been put in for the start of the 3rd period.

_Price lost confidence. The close up video of his face indicated to me that he was nervous and more worried about blowing the game instead of conquering it, especially after Kovy gave him hope…

-anyway, its one game and atleast we got a point.

-Definately start Price against Chi-town, he needs to rebuild his confidence and get back in the groove…he is our future…but Huet is with no doubt our no. 1 goalie, for I feel much more confident when Huets in net…the rookie still needs time.

-on a positive note, the team is still playing great, showed resiliance after dropping 3 and the lead…also, Toronto lost…

-Toronto is steadily dropping to where they belong, at the bottom of the pile…and they deserve it because at the beginning of the season they predicted Montreal to be where they are and for them to be where we are, can you believe it? Montreal to be in last? ha, goes to show how much they know about hockey…I guess not winning a cup in 40 years explains it…

lets keep the faith, because right now we are looking at a playoff birth folks!!!

Cold goalie? Why should Price be cold? At this stage of his career he should be one of the hardest workers on the ice during practice and pre-game warm up. He should be tested well in those practices since he is a 20 year old rookie and not very experienced against NHL level players. He should be wide eyed and ready to play any chance he gets.

I think Huet is a great goaltender and he has the stats to prove it. His save % has been tops or amongst the league leaders for 3 years. He has had a late start in his career and has lots of years left in him. I am going to be sad to see him go, and some team is going to be very happy to acquire him.

As for Price, I am impressed with his calmness at such a young age, and I hope he lives up to what is expected of him.

As far as last game, I thought the defense was at fault for several goals by backing up and allowing snipers to shoot from prime goal scoring spots. I don’t know of too many NHL goalies that are expected to make those saves.

He misplayed the long slapper for sure, but that is the only one I feel he should have saved.